Home Run Derby History
Take It Deep: www.letsgodeep.com
On Monday July 14th, Major League Baseball will display 8 of the best sluggers in the game today in what promises to be one of the most exciting moments of the 2008 season. Yankee Stadium will act as host for the 23rd installment of the event that has turned into a huge fan favorite. The Home Run Derby hasn't always been known for the excitement that it produces today. In fact, the event wasn't even televised nationally until 1993 when ESPN carried it on tape delay. It was first televised live in 1998 and the popularity has been on the rise ever since. The format has changed several times over the years with the AL and NL each fielding 2,3,4 or 5 players. It has even been AL vs. NL and country vs. country. No matter how the format changes, it's the number and distance of the homeruns that keeps the fans wanting more. In 1985, Dave Parker was crowned as the champion after hitting 6 homeruns. In 2005, Bobby Abreu hit 24 homeruns…in the first round! He ended with a record 41 homeruns. With numbers like that, it's easy to see why people crowd the ballpark and gather around their TVs to witness this event every year. Ken Griffey Jr. has all-time Home Run Derby bragging rights as he's won the event 3 times. Sammy Sosa is a 2-time champion. No one else has ever won more than once. Vladimir Guerrero is hoping to have a chance to join Sosa with 2 wins and also defend his title from last year. Guerrero hasn't been confirmed as a participant yet, but we do have 5 of the 8 players confirmed at this point. Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros, Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, Grady Sizemore of the Cleveland Indians, Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins and Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Philles have agreed to take part in the festivities. Chase Utley has a chance to bring the hardware back to Philly for the 3rd time in 4 years, as Bobby Abreu won in 2005 and Ryan Howard won in 2006.
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